Space & Astronomy

Iran sends second monkey in to space

By T.K. Randall
December 15, 2013

Image Credit: NASA President Hassan Rouhani announced that the primate, named Fargam, had successfully traveled up in to space and back again without incident. The mission is part of a series of test missions designed to pave the way for a future manned space program.Iran had previously sent a monkey in to space back in January aboard a Pishgam rocket that reached a height of 75 miles. Controversy surrounded the animal's return however when the images released seemed to show a different animal to the one that had gone up. Officials insisted that the monkey had survived and that they'd released archive images of a candidate animal by accident.

Iran's space endeavors have also raised concerns with the international community due to the country's controversial nuclear development program. Some argue that the country could turn its space rockets in to ballistic missiles with the potential to deliver a nuclear warhead to anywhere on the planet.

Source: BBC News

Tags: Iran, Monkey